Gas filler valve



Aug. s, msg.

J. KANTOR GAS FILLER VALVE Original Filed May l0, 1935 n rl ff afa .o z L z I l a Patented Aug. 8, 1939 GAS FILLER, VALVE James Kantor, Chicago, ill., assignor to The Liquid Carbonio Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a cci-poration of Delaware Originai application May 10, 1935, Serial No. 20,725. Divided and this application February 28, 1936, Serial No. 66,157

4 Claims.

The present application relates to improvements in m-eans for filling bottles with, carbonated beverages, and the like, and primarily, means for filling the bottles with beer.

v It is one of the ob-jects of the invention to provide a bottle filling means wherein, after the desired quantity of liquid has been discharged into the bottle, the danger of a quantity of air being pulled into the neck of th-e bottle, upon the removal of the lling valve from the bottle, shall be eliminated.

`The present application is a division of my copending application filed May 10, 1935, Serial No. 20,725, patented Dec. 13, 1938, as Patent No.

For the purpose of disclosing the present invention, I have illustrated an embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation, partly in section, of

a lling machine embodying my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View of a filling valve of said filling machine.

In the structure illustrated, the lling machine disclosed is provided with a rotating support I provided with a plurality of reciprocating bottle saddles 2 which are mounted on reciprocating supports 3 vertically moved through the instrumentality of cam-operated arms fi. This support carries the usual water-check tank and high- .30 pressure cylinder 5 into which is admitted water through the pipe 6 and CO2 under pressure is admitted through the gas swivel valve l. It must be borne in mind that the water which is admitted to the tank is not admitted continuously and the pipe 6 is, therefore, merely a supply pipe, the fiow of water, when the suitable level of water in the tank has been obtained, being cut off by the valve in the pipe.

'Ihe support I also carries an annular filler tank 8 to which the beer is admitted through the supply pipes 8 connected with a pressure-control valve I8, in turn connected with the b-eer supply. Associated with the filler tank 8 is a plurality of ller valves 8 each of which connects to the A high-pressure and low-pressure tank cylinders respectively 5 and 5 through the medium of a communicating pipe II and valve mechanism II E'ach filler valve, shown more in detail in Fig. 2, comprises a filler tube I2 communicating with the interior of the ller tank 3 and supported in a casting I3 forming a portion of the bottom of the ller tank 8. This casting is provided with a neck I4 to which is attached by a coupling nut I5, a counter-pressure valve casing I6. A pair of pressure tubes or chambers I'! extend upwardly from the casting I3 and have communication with a chamber I8 in which is arranged the counter-pressure valve I9 adapted to engage a seat 28. The upper ends of these two tubes or chambers Il communicate with a chamber hav- 5 ing arranged therein a diaphragm 2 I. Arranged in the lower end of the casing I is a sealing washer 22 adapted to be engaged by the bottle bell, as more fully hereinafter described. The valve I8 surrounds the filler tube I2 and is pro- 10 vided with a tubular neck 23, likewise surrounding the tube I2 and projecting below the sealing washer 22. This valve I9 is biased in its closed position by a coiled spring 24 and arranged in the neck 23 at a point near the valve are bleeder 15 openings 25.

The bottom of the filler tube I2 is closed by a pear valve 26, downwardly opening and secured to the end of a valve stem 2l, the upper end of which is connected to the diaphragm 2l. The 20 normal position of the diaphragm is such as to maintain the valve 25 in its closed position.

Also mounted on the ller tube I2 is a bottle bell or throat 28 provided with a sealing washer 29. The top of this bell, when the tube is in- 25 serted into the bottle the proper distance, is adapted to engage the bottom. end of the tube 23 to thereby raise or open the counter-pressure valve I9 which places the counter-pressure chamber or compartment I8 in communication 30 with the top of the gas tanks 5 and 5 in which counter-pressure is maintained, that in the tank 5' being less than that in the tank 5. This communication is established through la port 30 in a stem 3| connected by a pipe 32 in turn con- 35 nected to the tank 5. The gas pressure in these tanks 5 and 5 varies from eight to twenty-two pounds, depending upon the nature of the beer or liquid to be bottled, which pressure, however, is slightly lower than the head of the beer in the 40 ller tank 8.

In addition to the above supply of gas, the bottle bell 28, above the sealing washer 29, is provided with a gas chamber 33 in turn con.- nected by a iieXible tube- 34 with a ring 35. 'Ihis 45 ring in turn is connected by a conduit 36 through a gas-swivel valve 3l with an inl-et pipe 38 connected with a gas supply and delivering gas at a decidedly reduced pressure as compared with the pressure delivered through the tube 32. In com- 50 mercial use, I have found that the pressure of the gas in the tube 34 should not exceed about three pounds. The end of the tube 34 is provided with what is commercially known as a Thomas check-valve 39 which, in effect, constitutes a soft 55 rubber nozzle having an opening through which the gas under the pressure of three pounds may pass; but with a back-pressure introduced in the chamber 33 surrounding this Thomas valve, exceeding the three pound opening pressure, the valve will be closed to prevent back-now.

In operation, when the bottle is iirst lifted, it engages the sealing ring 29 of the bottle bell 28, this ring sealing the inlet to the bottle. The bell raises with the bottle until the top of the bell engages the bottom of the tube 23, thereby raising the counter-pressure valve I9 off its seat and admitting counter-pressure from the port 30 and into the tubes I'I-I'I which, flowing through the tube 23 into the chamber 33 of the bottle bell, passes into the bottle and establishes a counter pressure therein. When the Counterpressure in the bottle has been built up, it continues to build up above the diaphragm 2 I, thereby establishing a sufficient pressure above the diaphragm to move the same downwardly, thereby opening the valve 26, permitting the iiow of beer into the bottle against the counter-pressure of gas in the bottle. The counter-pressure of the gas is slightly below the pressure on the beer in the tank and the combined head of beer in the filling tank and filling tube, so that the beer will flow into the bottle. By the time the bottle has been filled to the point desired, the bottle will have commenced to move downwardly, rst closing the counter-pressure valve I9. The closure of the counter-pressure valve shuts off the counter-pressure supply and the bleeding of the gas from the chamber I8 through the bleeder openings 25 will so reduce the pressure in the chamber I8 and against the diaphragm 2l that the valve 26 will be closed, shutting off the iiow of beer through the ller tube.

As long as the counter-pressure valve is open and gas is admitted through this valve into the chamber 33 of the bottle bell 28, this pressure will be greater than the pressure in the pipe 34, thereby maintaining the valve 39 closed to thus prevent the back-How of counter-pressure through this valve and into the pipe 34. When, however, the bottle bell is lowered and breaks contact with the bottom of the neck I6, this back-pressure no longer exists and the two or three pounds of pressure of gas in the pipe 34 is sufficient to open the valve 39 and flood the bell 28 with gas. If this bell top were not so flooded with gas, there would be an appreciable quantity of air sucked into the bell top due to the suction created by the removal of the tube from the bottle, and this air would pass down intothe bottle proper. However, by flooding the bell top with gas, any air which might have been trapped therein is driven out and the entry of air is prevented thus insuring the freedom of the neck of the bottle from air.

By this arrangement, even though the bottle is not lled up to the brim with liquid, there is no danger of air entering the neck of the bottle, because that portion of the neck which does not contain liquid is filled with CO2 which, being an inert gas, prevents the admission of air to the bottle so that the bottle is delivered to the crowning machine with a minimum of air therein. It has been discovered that air in beer has a decidedly deteriorating effect thereon, changing not only the taste of the beer, after a period of storage, but `also the color of the beer, which is objectionable. By the present method of filling, the air content of the bottle after it leaves the filling machine, having been reduced to the minimum, the danger of a deteriorating quantity of air being in the bottle at the time of its crowning, is reduced.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a bottle iilling machine, the combination with means for delivering a supply of gas under pressure to the bottle to be filled, means insertable in the bottle for delivering a supply of liquid to the bottle at a slightly greater pressure than the gas pressure, means for shutting ofi the gas supply pressure prior to removal of said insertable means from the bottle, and means for delivering a supply of gas to the bottle at considerably less pressure than the initial gas supply and alter the supply of gas and liquid has been discontinued.

2. In a bottle filling machine, the combination with a filler valve, including a filler tube adapted to be projected into the bottle, of a counter-pressure tube for delivering an inert gas under pressure to said bottle, a bottle bell reciprocably mounted on said ller tube and moved into engaging position with the counter-pressure tube by the movement of the bottle, a valve for controlling the admission of counter-pressure to the counter-pressure tube adapted to be opened by the engagement of said bell with said tube, a secondary gas supply connected with said bell, a valve for controlling said secondary gas supply maintained in its closed position by the counterpressure delivered to said bell through the counter-pressure tube .and adapted to be opened upon the closing of the counter-pressure valve.

3. In a bottle lling machine, the combination with a ller tube, adapted to be projected into the bottle to be filled, of a bell surrounding said tube reciprocably mounted thereon and having a sealing contact with the neck of the bottle, a counter-pressure tube adapted to make sealing contact with said bell to deliver an inert gas through said bell to said bottle, a valve for controlling the supply of inert gas to said tube operated by the reciprocable movement of said bell, a supplemental conduit for an inert gas connected with said bell, a valve for controlling said conduit maintained closed by the gas pressure delivered through said counter-pressure tube and adapted to be opened by the supply of gas in said conduit upon the shutting off the supply of gas from said counter-pressure tube to said bell.

4. Apparatus for filling a container with a fluid comprising a nozzle connected to a source of supply of the fluid and having a container engaging member normally at its lower end for forming sealing engagement with a container to be filled, means for raising and lowering the container into and out of engagement with said member, and means operative in response to the lowering of the last named means for introducing an inert gas into the container.

JAMES KANTOR. 

